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Washington's Messianic Mission

Program #CHON182.
Recorded in Amherst, MA
on October 11, 2005.

All empires have fantasies and inspiring rationales to justify their domination. They hide behind words like freedom, democracy and liberation to mask their real intentions. The U.S. empire operates in the same way. Washington's messianic vision is being delivered out of the barrel of a gun. Arundhati Roy, the Indian writer and activist calls it "imperial democracy." "Empire is on the move, and democracy is its sly new war cry. Democracy, home delivered to your doorstep by daisy cutters. Death is a small price to pay for the privilege of sampling this new product: Instant-mix imperial democracy, bring to boil, add oil, then bomb."

Chomsky gave the Eqbal Ahmad lecture at Hampshire College.

Speaker(s):

Noam Chomsky, by any measure, has led a most extraordinary life. In one index he is ranked as the eighth most cited person in history, right up there with Aristotle, Shakespeare, Marx, Plato and Freud. The legendary MIT professor practically invented modern linguistics. In addition to his pioneering work in that field he has been a leading voice for peace and social justice for many decades. Chris Hedges says he is “America’s greatest intellectual” who “makes the powerful, as well as their liberal apologists, deeply uncomfortable.” He is Institute Professor (emeritus) in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT and Laureate Professor of Linguistics and Haury Chair in the Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona. At 90, he still gives lectures all over the world. He is the author of scores of books, including Propaganda & the Public Mind, How the World Works, Power Systems and Global Discontents with David Barsamian.